- The president of the Venezuelan Society of Childcare and Pediatrics of Aragua, Alejandro Crespo, urged the population to take children to health centers to be vaccinated and increase coverage in the country | Photo: Getty Images
Alejandro Crespo, president of the Venezuelan Society of Childcare and Pediatrics of Aragua, assured that an increase in investment in polio vaccines is necessary to avoid risks of contagion in the country.
In that sense, he assured that vaccine coverage against viruses in Venezuela is 61%, which is why he recommended that the population take children to health centers to receive the vaccine and increase this coverage to 95%.
“We must take our children to be vaccinated at the designated centers as soon as possible, not rushing as an emergency, but in a sustained manner over the following months,” the doctor urged during an interview with Union Radio on October 22.
Likewise, Crespo asked the authorities to have “transparency” in terms of communication, in addition to providing epidemiological information to health personnel and an action plan to address polio cases.
“We must call on the Venezuelan State to make an effort to improve vaccination and an effort to inform these things to the people,” he said.
Polio case confirmed in Venezuela
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), in its surveillance bulletin on polio in the Americas, with a cut-off date of October 5, 2024, reported a case of this disease in Venezuela.
PAHO has warned on several occasions about the need for the Venezuelan State to increase coverage against poliomyelitis and other epidemic outbreaks in the country after a July 2019 study warned that Venezuela was one of the four countries with “very high” risk of polio spread after importation or appearance of a case.
On October 18, the Venezuelan Society of Childcare and Pediatrics issued a statement to urge the national government to quickly increase the country’s vaccination coverage, in order to avoid “the reappearance of vaccine-preventable diseases.”
The organization indicated that, according to the PAHO bulletin, the incident corresponds to a case of flaccid paralysis in a child. In addition, it was learned that the virus was isolated by the “Rafael Rangel” National Institute of Hygiene. However, it is unknown where in Venezuela it was detected.
For its part, the National Academy of Medicine (ANM) specified that, according to the PAHO statement, it was a case resulting from the type 3 polio virus, as a consequence of a vaccine mutation, different from the known wild or natural polio. .
“It is a case of mutation of the Polio 3 virus from the bOPV vaccine, which is described in the literature. You should not panic with false alarms. It is a case studied, controlled and in recovery (…) The ANM calls on the community in general to be alert, to remain calm and to stay informed on reliable pages to avoid misinformation,” reads a statement from the ANM.
PAHO Recommendations
-Strengthen epidemiological surveillance.
-Update national preparation and response plans for polio events and outbreaks.
-Monitoring of risk mitigation plans.
-Improve vaccination coverage.
-Strengthen risk communication and response to cases.
Only 50% of children were vaccinated against polio in the world
In 2023, the vice president of the ANM, Huníades Urbina, assured that 50% of children under 5 years of age in the world do not have the polio vaccine.
The specialist expressed his concern in the case of Venezuela about a possible resurgence of the disease in the region due to low vaccination in the country.
Urbina insisted that to eradicate or combat different diseases in Venezuela, especially in the case of polio, it is essential to carry out an extensive immunization program in every corner of the country.
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